Does Adding A Dry Towel To The Tumble Dryer Help Dry Clothes Faster?

It can be really frustrating when you’re waiting for a particular item to dry in the tumble dryer. Which is why this simple hack could be a godsend if it works. 

Well you’ll be pleased to learn that adding a towel to your dryer does help your clothes dry faster, as long as you follow a few rules.

How To Get Clothes Dry Faster In The Dryer Using A Dry Towel

This is one of those anomalies that come up in life on occasion. How can putting a dry towel in with a load of wet washing, speed up the drying time? However, there is some science to back this up. 

What happens is the dry towel absorbs a certain amount of moisture from the wet load and as long as you remove the towel before it gets too wet, you can cut down the amount of time the rest of the laundry will need to get dry.

The trick is to use a clean, dry, fluffy towel and remove it from the dryer after around 15 to 20 minutes.

How It Works

As the dry, fluffy towel travels around in the drum, it rubs against the wet laundry. This leads to a transference of moisture onto the towel from the wet clothes. Which is why it needs to be a dry towel and it needs to be  fluffy to absorb more moisture. Obviously you could use a tea towel but with less surface area and a less absorptive material, it wouldn’t remove as much moisture.

The water that the dry towel absorbs is then removed from the dryer along with the towel which cuts the overall moisture content in the drum considerably.

The towel also needs to be removed after 15 to 20 minutes because this then removes all of that moisture from the dryer, Which means the clothes left inside will dry faster.

Conversely if you forget to remove the towel after 15 to 20 minutes, the laundry will take longer to dry. That seems odd because the towel was dry when it went in, but as it is now wet, it adds to the overall drying time.

Unfortunately you are now left with a damp towel that will need to be dried at some point, unless you want it to start smelling damp. But at least you will have reduced the length of time the rest of your laundry needs to dry.

Other Ways To Decrease Drying Times

The towel hack definitely works, however, it’s not the only way you can reduce drying times in your tumble dryer. Other ways include;

Use The Spin Cycle

You will find that washing that has been spun will leave the washing machine dryer than clothes that have simply been washed and rinsed. This results in those clothes needing less drying time.

Most wash programmes finish on a spin cycle, but it’s best to make sure.

Never Overfill The Dryer

Another good way to reduce drying times is to only fill the tumble dryer half full. This allows the laundry to tumble around the drum freely and lets the hot air circulate more efficiently.

Which will get the laundry dry quicker than if the drum was crammed full.

Use Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls bounce around the drum and collide with your laundry. As they hit your laundry they soften the fabrics. Another bonus is they decrease drying times by up to 25%.

SEE ALSO: Tumble Dryer Not Drying Properly? (here’s why & how to fix)

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